Speaker
Description
In a remarkable convergence between different approaches to quantum gravity, areas have emerged as more fundamental variables than lengths. I will discuss area metric gravity and focus on a version arising from loop quantum gravity and spin foams. This version provides a modified form of gravity without introducing additional poles, and thus avoids ghosts. One important difference to length metric gravity is that area metric gravity allows for a parity violating non-topological term without higher derivatives. These parity violating term comes with a coupling, known as Barbero-Immirzi parameter, which is of central importance in loop quantum gravity.
I will derive the dynamics of gravitational waves in area metric gravity and comment on a potential measurement scheme to determine the Barbero-Immirzi parameter. Time-permitting I will give an outlook on implications for cosmology.